Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander works against the Toronto Blue Jays during the second inning in Toronto on Thursday.AP Photo

TORONTO -- No Miguel Cabrera? No Omar Infante? No problem.

Still fuming over Colby Rasmus' hard slide the day before, the Tigers exacted the sweetest kind of revenge on the non-apologetic Blue Jays by simply sending Justin Verlander to the mound Thursday night.

Verlander elected not to plunk Rasmus or any Jays batter and risk ejection or possible suspension. Instead, he let his pitching do all the talking en route to a 11-1 Tigers' win in what was arguably his best start this season.

Verlander took a no-hitter into the fourth and shut out the Blue Jays for seven impressive innings, giving up only three hits -- all singles -- to end a skid of four straight winless starts. It was the third straight win for the Tigers after having lost six of seven.

The Tigers' bats did their part, too, combining for 16 hits as they showered Jays starter Esmil Rogers with 11 hits in five innings to build Verlander a 7-0 lead he didn't exactly need. The 11 runs were the most scored by the Tigers since May 22.

KEY TO THE GAME
Making his first start in Toronto since throwing the second of his two no-hitters in May 2011, Verlander worked 3 1/3 no-hit innings before designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion broke it up with a clean liner over Jhonny Peralta's head.

Coming off his first eight-inning start this year, Verlander needed just 38 pitches to work four frames, putting him on pace to work an 86-pitch complete game. He finished with 102 in seven innings, relying heavily on a fastball that consistently touched 97-98 mph.

Verlander worked himself into a jam in the sixth when he gave up a leadoff single and walked Encarnacion with one out, but got Adam Lind to bat into an inning-ending double play. He returned in the seventh to retire the side in order, capped by his strikeout of Rajai Davis on his 102nd pitch. In all, he walked two and struck out five.

TIGERS HIGHLIGHTS
-- Led by Austin Jackson and his second four-hit game this year, every starter in the Tigers' lineup got a hit with the exception of catcher Alex Avila. Jackson had an RBI single as part of a three-run sixth and added a two-run homer in the eighth, his fifth this year.

-- Torii Hunter and Jhonny Peralta each hit an RBI double as part of a two-run third inning. Hunter, who went 2-for-4 to raise his average to .303, knocked in two more runs with a pair of sacrifice flies in the sixth and ninth inning, respectively.

-- Prince Fielder hit a pair of RBI singles in the first and sixth inning and Andy Dirks put the Tigers on the board in the first with an RBI double. Dirks recorded his second RBI in the ninth when he drew a bases-loaded walk.

TIGERS LOWLIGHTS
-- Avila went 0-for-5 and was the lone Tigers starter without base hit. It was a rough night for Avila, who entered Thursday 3-for-7 with a homer and a double since returning from the 15-day disabled list.

-- Detroit's lineup was missing two key offensive contributors: Cabrera and Infante. Cabrera was sidelined with tightness on the left side of his lower back and missed his first game this season, snapping a string of 108 consecutive starts.

-- Infante missed Thursday's game due to a left shin contusion, which he suffered the previous night when Rasmus barreled into him at second base on a hard slide. Infante indicated Thursday that he could miss a couple more days.

-- The Blue Jays scored their lone run in the ninth off Darin Downs, who gave up a pair of singles, including an RBI base hit to Maicer Izturis.

OTHER GAME NOTES
-- Several Tigers took exception to Rasmus' slide and called it dirty on Wednesday, including Torii Hunter, who was at the forefront of a bench-clearing incident Wednesday as a result of it.

-- Toronto lost for the eighth time in 11 games since matching a franchise record with an 11-game winning streak.